UTILITIES: The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power partners with the Navajo tribal utility to connect Navajo homes to the power grid. (Associated Press)

ALSO:
• Arizona regulators are set to vote next week on standards requiring utilities to get 100% of their power from carbon-free sources by 2070. (Arizona Daily Star, subscription)
• Montana rural electricity cooperatives look to reap a portion of the $10 billion in the federal reconciliation bill to retire coal plants and deploy renewable energy. (Billings Gazette)

OIL & GAS:
• New Mexico economists attribute a projected record-breaking $9 billion in revenue for the state’s operating budget this year due to rising oil prices and increased production, but say dependence on the industry makes the state vulnerable to busts. (Alamogordo Daily News)
• The University of Montana’s faculty calls on the school’s retirement fund to divest from all fossil fuel stocks. (Missoulian)

WIND:
• The federal Bureau of Land Management downgrades the status of a wind project proposed for southern Nevada land that advocates want designated as a national monument. (E&E News)  
• A Wyoming county accepts an application for a proposed 114-turbine wind facility, but delays a final decision to allow more time for consideration. (Wyoming Public Media) 

SOLAR:
• A Bureau of Land Management solar lease sale garners nearly $200,000 for development rights on about 6,000 acres in Arizona solar energy zones. (E&E News, subscription)
• A Colorado county tables proposed solar regulations amid opposition from both solar advocates and residents opposed to solar over to aesthetics. (Pueblo Chieftain)
• California solar advocates deliver to the state capitol more than 120,000 public comments opposing changes to rooftop solar net metering policies. (Solar Power World)

ELECTRIFICATION:
• Santa Clara County, California, bans natural gas hookups and requires battery storage-ready wiring in all new construction, and mandates solar panels on all high-rise residential and non-residential buildings and hotels. (news release)
• Shoreline, Washington, bans natural gas hookups in new commercial and larger residential buildings, but state law prevents the city from requiring the same for single-family homes. (KUOW)

GEOTHERMAL: Three northern California counties launch an effort to expand the region’s geothermal energy production. (Mendocino Voice)  

HYDROGEN: A Los Angeles utility official says generating electricity with green hydrogen is the “only way to accomplish the reliability that we need.” (RTO Insider, subscription)

NUCLEAR: The U.S. EPA orders a halt to waste deliveries to a Utah uranium mill after a magazine photo reveals the waste was handled improperly. (Salt Lake Tribune)

COAL: A former Montana coal mine official admits to conspiring with colleagues to not report workplace accidents that injured employees. (news release)

BIOFUELS: California’s U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein asks the Biden administration to extend renewable biomass fuel credits to include vegetation removed from human-occupied areas to reduce wildfire risk. (news release)

CLIMATE: California regulators vote to ban sales of new gas-powered leaf blowers and lawn mowers in 2024 and portable diesel generators by 2028. (Los Angeles Times)

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Jonathan P. Thompson

Jonathan hails from southwestern Colorado and has been writing about the land, cultures, and communities of the Western United States for more than two decades. He compiles the Western Energy News digest. He is the author of three books, a contributing editor at High Country News, and the editor of the Land Desk, an e-newsletter that provides coverage and context on issues critical to the West.